Page 150 - Key Words in Religion Media and Culture

Narrative 133

Watch many of these amateur or semi-amateur productions and one is struck
by how often the film makers rely on the audience to elaborate on what they
see, so creating for themselves a meaningful narrative.

Reverberations of narratives

I now consider the reverberations of Rizal’s narratives. By “reverberations”
I mean the echoing or forming of stories that refer to the core narrative,
serving both to draw meaning from it and to infuse it with thematic
relevance. Reverberation is a very important cultural operation because it
forms the new on the old but also refreshes the old, changing it however
slightly or dramatically in the process. These are intermeshed in such a way
that it will be more helpful to consider different kinds of reverberation
alongside one another. The controversial photo that has become so firmly
embedded in the collective Filipino memory of Rizal’s story reverberates
in several dramatic contexts. For example, it is brought to life in one of
more than sixty dioramas, which are small illuminated scenes with model
figures and dramatic backdrops or scenery. The set of dioramas is found at
the Ayala museum in Manila, and they trace the history of the Philippines.
The fact that Rizal is given two separate scenes, one of him writing Noli Me
Tangere and the other of his execution, underlies his perceived importance
in this dramatic account of the formation of the modern-day Philippines.
Thousands of Filipino school children are taken around this display every
year, with the diorama being a particular favorite for both the organizers of
the school trips and the children themselves.
The narrative of Rizal reverberates in other dramatic settings. Every night,
currently at 8 pm, in Rizal Park there is a sound and light display reenacting his
life and death. Music, lights, and a commentary help to bring the eight-foot-
high metallic sculptures to life. Most of these lifelike figures are portrayed in
the moment of Rizal’s execution. There is a heroic quality to Rizal’s figure,
which is reminiscent of Francisco’s portrayal. There is also something ironic
in that a man who stood little more than five feet in real life is turned into an
eight-foot giant, towering over any visitor walking round the site during the
day or any viewer watching the show in the evening. The daily recalling of
his life and death has a ritualistic quality, which is even clearer throughout
the country on Rizal Day, December 30, the annual commemoration of
his martyrdom. Flags fly at half-staff, masses and services are held, floral
offerings are made, bells are rung, his last and most famous poem My Final
Farewell (Mi Ultimo Adiós) is recited, with processions, speeches, and meals
all marking the day as noteworthy. There is a participative quality to these
rituals, which ensures than his story resonates at more levels of Filipino
society. Notice how civil rituals are brought together with religious services,